Reports of Toyota RAV4 gearbox woes mount as owner anger grows
Imagine merging into speeding highway traffic when your transmission suddenly balks at the shift, leaving you struggling to choose between that 70,000-pound semi filling your rear view mirror or the shrinking median on the right side of the road. This scenario is just one of the complaints being lodged against Toyota's 2001-2003 RAV4 as owners complain about the Japanese automaker's reluctance to acknowledge a fault with the so-called cute-ute's electronically-controlled transmission.
According to the reports (more than 120 complaints have been lodged to the NHTSA so far), the engine control module (ECM) may fail and send mixed signals to the transmission. Once the tranny starts to misbehave (noticed through rough or missed shifts), the ECM needs to immediately be serviced to avoid major transmission damage. Long story short, owners are miffed that Toyota has internally confirmed the issue (a TSB was issued to dealers in March of 2006), but has failed to notify consumers who are facing costly repair bills to replace transmissions when all many needed was a simple electronic module.
A spokesman for the NHTSA says the agency doesn't like to open investigations unless the problem is identified as a clear safety issue, but they "are watching it very closely." Toyota, meanwhile, is studying the issue to determine whether to extend its warranty on the parts in question.
[Source: NYTimes.com]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Avinash machado 9:11AM (8/28/2009)
Toyota is not much different from the domestics at all.
Reply
Coolio 9:16AM (8/28/2009)
Yes they are - they often refuse to acknowledge know issues.
Avinash machado 9:31AM (8/28/2009)
Good point Coolio.
Patrick 12:36PM (8/28/2009)
Since no MR2, Supra, Celica (and I mean the good ones, not recent gen). I really HATE Toyota. (except for the IS/GS and maybe the xB).
That is all.
The Other Bob 9:17AM (8/28/2009)
"Toyota is not much different from the domestics at all."
No, its lower quality, higher pirced, and more smug than at least GM and Ford.
Reply
kcspeed 9:21AM (8/28/2009)
All hail the great Toyota, errr....... wait a minute, maybe not.
KC.
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genepro08 9:20AM (8/28/2009)
Quality wise,
Korean(Genesis) >= Japanese(Toyota) >> European >>>>>>>> American >> Indian/Malaysian >> Russian >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> African > Chinese
Reply
Mike7 9:32AM (8/28/2009)
You have guts to say such thing, all give you that. By the way, I disagree with you.
Mike7 9:33AM (8/28/2009)
"You have guts to say such thing, all give you that. By the way, I disagree with you."
Well that's full of grammatical fail. Autoblog, edit button?
Frank 9:51AM (8/28/2009)
You can't be serious that European cars are, on the whole, more reliable than American cars, again on the whole. They may drive better, etc. but they are not as realiable, and then, when they do break down, they cost way more than American or even Japanese cars to fix.
Also, hears a dirty little secret. It should be Toyota/Honda >>>> American >= Nissan/Mazda >>>> Mistubishi, Suzuki. I'm leaving Hyundai out of this on purpose. I didn't list Subaru because I don't really know how reliable unreliable they are.
essende 10:09AM (8/28/2009)
@Frank, actually there is another little secret when it comes to Mitsubishi: Mitsubishi made in Japan >>>>>>> Mitsubishi made in USA, there is a huge difference in quality between their Japanese plants and their Normal, IL plant which is backed up by statistics. Take a look at the new Outlander/Lancer reliability ratings and you'll see they are at the top of their respective groups, but anything thats made in good ol' USA suffers from reliability and built craftsmanship issues. Mitsus made in Japan are not any worse than their Toyota/Honda counterparts.
Big Mola 10:11AM (8/28/2009)
9:32AM (8/28/2009), Mike7 wrote:
"You have guts to say such thing, all give you that. By the way, I disagree with you."
This is the Internet. You can spew all kinds of fecal matter. No guts required.
XJ 10:46AM (8/28/2009)
Having owned a Mitsubishi Eclipse built in Normal IL and my former roommate having owned a Chrysler Sebring also built in Normal IL, I can attest to quality issues with American-built Mitsubishi cars. They're just plain awful.
I don't know about the Japanese-built Mitsubishis but they better be much, much, much better built for me to give them another chance.
Tourian 1:49PM (8/28/2009)
I own a japenese built Mitsu and a US built Mitsu. My Japan built car has been flawless. My US built one has been average to good. I would put a Japan built Mitsu at least as good as or better then anything from Honda or Toyota. My US built Mitsu is doing better then these RAV4s from Toyota.
Chiddy 7:04AM (8/29/2009)
What an idiot !! Genesis is just a high end model of the Korean Hyundai junk and you're making a model comparison to the whole brands like Toyota ? lol even as we're speaking now there are people out there still view Hyundai as a piece of junk. Didn't Genesis fail to make its sale target or something. Wake up Korean boy your Hyundai is still nowhere near Lexus, BMW, Audi, Mercedes or American high end cars, the Hyundai Equus looks just like another carbon copy of Mercedes lol, even the little flying decoration is a copy of Bentley. Jeeze man I have been reading Autoblog for quite some time and it's very annoying when you see people like this guy who is most likely to be Korean keep talking about how good Hyundai and Kia are and how they are better than Japanese and European cars, please ffs these people need a wake-up call. At the moment, those Korean junks are only doing well in third world country like China and India according to statistics, they only manage to grow little bit in North America because of people going on budget due to the recession.
Ignorance is truly a bliss.
Buffalo Bill 7:35PM (8/30/2009)
I am so embarrassed that Korea is so close to those poor commie
Chinese, let's bash them with racist implications to let people know that
we're not similar at all! Oh hey, I think black people are retards
and savages, so let's place the Chinese next to them! I haven't done
much in my life, so to fill the void I shall take credit for the
achievements of others of my kind, make that my identity to boost my
ego, and look down on others who are in less fortunate situations and
conclude that they are inherently worthless. Ain't life swell?
genepro08 9:22AM (8/28/2009)
Safety-wise,
European => Korean/Japanese >> American >>> Russian >> Indian/Malaysian >>>>>>>>>>>>> African = Chinese
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ3oyo-irJ4 (Asian Car Comparison Guide)
Reply
Bloke 9:23AM (8/28/2009)
Here's a perfect thread for all the American blue-collar kids, trailer trash, KKK and other luantics to play in!
Reply
Bloke 9:24AM (8/28/2009)
Lunatics, even!
The Other Bob 9:25AM (8/28/2009)
"Here's a perfect thread for all the American blue-collar kids... "
Nice of you to say everyone blue collar is trailer trash racists. You sir are the one spreading stereotypes. STFU.